BCA names suspect, sergeant in St. Cloud shooting Monday

A man shot by a Stearns County deputy Monday night while fleeing officers responding to an assault report was charged Wednesday with six felonies. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Wednesday identified the suspect as Lazaro Domingo Diaz, 37, of St. Cloud. The BCA said Stearns County Sgt. Nathan Stewart is the deputy who shot Diaz, who was armed, as he tried to flee 7118 Northwood Lane.
Matt Perkins, St. Cloud Times/Wochit

Lazaro Domingo Diaz, pictured in November 2016(Photo: Courtesy of the Minnesota Department of Corrections)

A man shot by a Stearns County deputy Monday night while fleeing officers responding to an assault report was charged Wednesday with six felonies.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Wednesday identified the suspect as Lazaro Domingo Diaz, 37, of St. Cloud. The BCA said Stearns County Sgt. Nathan Stewart is the deputy who shot Diaz, who was armed, as he tried to flee 7118 Northwood Lane.

Stewart shot Diaz twice in the leg, and two St. Cloud officers used stun guns. As Diaz struggled with the officers, a K-9 unit was used.

Officers and ambulance personnel provided aid, and Diaz was taken to St. Cloud Hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening, according to the BCA.

Stewart, who has been with the Stearns County Sheriff's Office for 14 years, was placed on standard administrative leave, as were four St. Cloud officers who were also involved in the incident.

According to the BCA release, shortly after knocking on the home's front door, authorities saw Diaz, who had a handgun, break a back window of the home and jump out.

The BCA's preliminary investigation found that Diaz then fired several shots and ran around the southwest corner of the home, where he immediately encountered Stewart, who shot him.

The BCA said squad car cameras did not capture the incident, and as previously reported, neither the Stearns County Sheriff's Office nor the St. Cloud Police Department use body cameras.

The BCA is still investigating the shooting, while the St. Cloud Police Department is investigating the domestic assault.

Diaz was charged Wednesday in Stearns County District Court with one count each of first-degree assault - use of deadly force against a peace officer; possession of a dangerous weapon after being convicted of a crime of violence; domestic assault by strangulation; violation of a no-contact order within 10 years of the first of two or more convictions; and two counts of felony domestic assault.

He has previous felony convictions for assault and drug possession.

Diaz is scheduled to make his first court appearance on the charges Thursday morning.

Follow business reporter Matt Perkins on Twitter at @sctimesmatt. You can contact him at 320-259-3662 or mperkins@stcloudtimes.com.